


Too Much Wine in the Bottle

by liairene



Series: A Visitor's Guide to Highbury [3]
Category: Persuasion - Jane Austen
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Girls' Night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:01:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23305726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liairene/pseuds/liairene
Summary: Erik Wentworth has returned to Highbury, and Annabelle "Annie" Eliot needs to blow off some steam with her girlfriends. But sometimes, there might be too much wine in the bottle.(Takes place in the middle of Writer in Residence)
Relationships: Anne Elliot/Frederick Wentwork(past)
Series: A Visitor's Guide to Highbury [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/908481
Comments: 1
Kudos: 32





	Too Much Wine in the Bottle

“There’s too much wine in the bottle,” Annabelle moaned from the couch.

“That’s not a real problem,” Elsa sighed.

“There’s just too much wine in the bottle.”

Nora rolled her eyes. “So drink it already. Then there won’t be any wine in the bottle.”

“But the bottle is far away.”

“Then I’ll drink it,” Elsa offered from the chair where she was curled up. “That will solve the problem.”

“No!” Annie protested vehemently. “Gimme the wine!”

“I’ll do it,” Emma sighed. She sluggishly rose from her spot on the floor by the coffee-table and poured wine into Annie’s empty glass. Then she added more to her own glass. “Not empty yet, Elsie, give us your glass.”

“Are you trying to get me drunk, Emmer?”

“You live here. It’s okay if you get drunk.”

“You’re spending the night here. It’s okay if you get drunk.”

“Oh.” Emma thought for a minute. “Okay, Nora, want to get out another bottle of wine?”

“It’s not my house.”

“I know,” Emma said. “But Elsie is busy, and I don’t think that Annie is in any shape to be getting out wine or opening bottles.”

“I hate Erik Wentworth,” Annie sighed. “I hate him.”

“Yeah, we all hate Erik Wentworth and his stupid face,” Emma replied as she raised her glass in toast to Annie.

“His face isn’t stupid. It’s too pretty to hate.”

“Nah, it’s not worth anything. Fuck him.”

Annie sighed. “I loved him. You know?”

“Yeah, and he walked away from you at the worst moment possible,” Elsa stated blandly.

“I broke up with him.”

“I think that you’re misremembering things,” Elsa replied. “You told him that something had gone wrong and you couldn’t marry him right away. You didn’t say anything about ending the relationship, just postponing the engagement.”

“You’re right,” Annie said slowly.

“I know I’m right. I was there. Well, I wasn’t there when you went to talk to him and he shut the door in your face. But I talked everything through with you the night before. I was there to pick up the pieces. I know that your family had just completely imploded over dinner the night before. I know things.”

“But he doesn’t. And I don’t want to have to tell him everything.”

“So don’t,” Emma said casually as she started trying to open a new bottle of wine. “Screw him. Forget him. Don’t tell him a thing. He refused to listen to you seven years ago. You don’t owe him a thing.”

Annie sighed. “Have you seen his face?”

“It’s okay.”

“He looks like Thor,” Elsa pronounced seriously.

“But Thor is not your type,” Annie remarked.

“Psh,” came the reply from the rocking chair. “While in general he is not my type, I can appreciate the fact that he is objectively hot as god-damn-fuck.”

“Is that the technical term for it?” Nora teased.

“It is. And while I prefer my men to be cut on the leaner side, I can appreciate the value of Erik and George.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Oh Elsa.”

“What?”

“You’re so honest when you’ve been drinking.”

Elsa grinned. “And you love it!”

Emma snorted, but it was Nora who replied. “All that I can say, Elsa, is that I’m grateful that you’re an entertaining drunk.”

“Yeah, alcohol brings out Annie’s repressed emotions,” Emma added.

“Which is also cool,” Elsa said. “I like when Annie actually says what she’s thinking.”

“You’re as-bird,” Annie sighed. “Dust as-bird.”

“I like how the more that Annie dinks, the less sense she makes,” Emma remarked as she finally popped the cork out of her glass and refilled first Elsa’s glass and then her own.

“I make plenty sense.”

Elsa snorted at that. “You can’t even say sense.”

“You know what I mean. Be quiet.”

“Annie, you’re going to regret this tomorrow.”

“Nah, I’ll be fine. You’re the one who has to worry, Elsa.”

“How so?”

“Just trust me,” Annie slurred.

* * *

The next morning, Annie woke up with a dry mouth. She slowly lifted her head up and moaned. She wasn’t in her bed. Her head was propped up on a pillow resting against the arm of the couch. “There’s a drool stain,” she mumbled. “That’s gross.”

She lifted her head a bit more, and nausea overwhelmed her. She clamped her mouth shut, struggling gracelessly to her feet, and staggered to the bathroom.

* * *

When Annie emerged from the bathroom, Elsa was in the kitchen cooking bacon.

Annie glared at her flatmate. “Don’t look at me. Don’t say anything.”

“I’m cooking bacon, dearest. I haven’t said a thing.”

“Good.”

Elsa stepped away from the stove and gave Annie a can of club soda and two ibuprofen tablets. “Take the pills, and then drink this.”

“I hate this stuff.”

“Just trust me. And then chase it with a glass of water and a cup of coffee.”

“How much did I drink last night?”

Elsa shook her head and turned back to her bacon. “I’m not saying anything. I’m making breakfast.”

Annie swallowed the tablets with a sip of the bubbly liquid. “I thought that you’re hangover breakfast of choice was a bacon-egg sandwich.”

“I’m cooking bacon for a reason. There’s going to be a few foggy heads around here this morning.”

“Ugh,” Annie sighed. “How are you not hungover?”

“How do you know that I haven’t already puked and taken ibuprofen?”

“Because I’ve been around you when you’re hungover,” her roommate replied. “And this is not it.”

“I guess my alcohol tolerance is higher? I’d like to credit grad school for that one.”

Annie shook her head and then moaned. “Ah, I shouldn’t have done that.”

“The sink is here for you.”

“I don’t like you right now.”

“That might be the meanest thing that you’ve ever said to me. Have a piece of bacon.”

Annie took and ate the proffered bacon. “How did you figure out that…” she gulped. “This was....”

“Go to the bathroom,” Elsa sighed.

“Why is the sun in the sky?” Emma moaned as she stumbled into the room. “Can it go back to bed?”

As Annie leaned over the sink, Elsa handed Emma two ibuprofen tablets and a glass of water. “Take these.”

Emma stuck her tongue out at Elsa before following the given directions. “I hate you.”

“I’m making you bacon,” Elsa replied. “And eggs and toast and potatoes.”

“Fine, but turn off the sun.”

Elsa wordlessly turned back to the stove, put the bacon in her pan on a paper towel covered plate, and put more bacon in the pan. Then she stirred her eggs.

Annie lifted her head slowly and turned on the sink. “I’m going to die.”

“Don’t drink that much wine again,” Emma said slowly but unsteadily.

“I never drink like that. Two glasses of wine is my limit.”

“Yes, well Erik Wentworth is pond scum, and you needed that. You cleaned him out with alcohol.”

Annie sighed. “Why did he have to move back to Highbury?”

“Because he’s terrible,” Emma replied as she slid down to the floor, glass of water in hand.

“I’m making you both coffee. It’ll be done soon.”

“Don’t wake Nora,” Emma cautioned. “Annie, sit down. Erik’s terrible. We’ve known that for years. Just sit down.”

“Erik isn’t terrible,” Annie began.

Emma snorted. “Hey, Elspeth, tell me something.”

“What?”

“Is Erik Wentworth terrible?”

Elsa put bread in the toaster and took cheese out of the fridge before answering. “Obviously.”

“It’s not obvious,” Annie began.

“Yes it is,” Elsa replied. “You went to his apartment. You told him that you needed to talk to him because something bad had happened. You said that maybe now wasn’t the best time to get married.”

“And he shut the door in your face,” Emma concluded. “Well, he said that he never wanted to see you again, and then he shut the door. But anyway, I think that we’re all clear on the general gist of things. Your mom had just been arrested for embezzling money from your dad and having an affair for the better part of their marriage. You were a bit stressed. It wasn’t the right moment for you to be planning a wedding. You just wanted to talk to him, but he shut the damn door in your face.”

“You two are amazing, you know that right?”

“It’s obvious,” Emma replied. “We’re Emma and Elsa. Separately, we’re terrifying. Together, we make the world a better place.”

“You two need to rebrand your motto,” Nora said as she came into the kitchen. “And hush. Emma Alexandra, you are too freaking loud.”

“She’s been hearing that since birth,” Elsa remarked as she put a plate loaded with eggs, buttered toast, bacon, and hash browns in front of Annie. “Eat that. It’ll help. The coffee’s almost done.”

“Praise the Jesus,” Nora replied as she settled into a chair. “Red wine hits me more than white does.”

“That’s why you shouldn’t drink with Emma,” Elsa told her.

Nora rolled her eyes. “Why are you being the mother hen this morning?”

“Because you drank pinot noir last night,” Elsa replied. “And as we all know, pinot noir destroys your ability to be the mother hen.”

“I’m not sure if I want to hit you or hug you.”

“You grew up with Marianne,” Emma remarked. “It’s natural.”

“Do all three of you want coffee?”

Nora snorted. “I need it.”

“I love hungover Nora,” Emma said. “She’s funny.”

“She’s grumpy,” Nora said as she took a steaming mug from Elsa.

“I know. I like grumpy Nora.”

“Okay, sassy Emma,” Elsa said. “Drink coffee.”

“I hate you, Elsa.”

“That’s fine. I’ll give you a sandwich in a minute. I have to put coffee in Annie’s cream first.”

“I think that’s the other way around,” Emma began.

“No,” Nora said. “You drink coffee with cream. Annie drinks cream with coffee.”

“What does Marianne drink?”

“Cream with a drop of coffee,” Elsa said flatly.

Nora snorted before wincing. “I shouldn’t have done that. Why does alcohol hate me?”

“Better question,” Emma said. “Why doesn’t it hate Elsa?”

“Because I’m in grad school? If you were about six months away from defending your doctoral thesis, I’d bet you and alcohol would be pretty damn good friends too.”

“True facts,” Nora agreed. “I’m not in grad school anymore, but I remember those days.”

“How many days until you’re done?” Emma asked as she took the plate offered to her.

“Days?” Elsa repeated. “Oh honey, my defense isn’t scheduled yet, but it’ll be in late March or early April.”

“March or April?” Emma’s eyes were wide. “Lord, that’s so long.”

Elsa shrugged as she settled herself on the floor with a plate of food and a cup of coffee. “Five or six months compared with the last six years? It really doesn’t feel that long.”

Nora picked up her plate. “Elsie, can you make this into a sandwich for me, please?”

“Pass it,” came the reply, and then she did turned two pieces of toast, scrambled eggs, hash browns, and bacon into a sandwich. “I can’t get all the hash browns in. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’ll just put ketchup on them.”

“Sandwich please too?” Emma asked.

Elsa took her friend’s plate and shook her head. “I really am the den mom this morning.”

“Did you drink less than the rest of us last night?” Annie queried.

“Haven’t we been over this already?” Nora said. “She’s a grad student. Don’t into a drinking match with a grad student mere months away from defending their dissertation. They’ll win every time.”

“Were you like this before your thesis defense? I don’t remember it.”

Nora shrugged. “I mean…when Marianne is your younger sister and your dad is recently deceased, yeah, I drank my fair share.”

“I don’t remember that.”

“Darling,” Emma said softly. “You usually fall asleep after a mojito or a glass or two of wine. You probably never heard Nora’s gin fueled rants.”

“Were they entertaining?”

Elsa snorted. “They were hilarious.”

“All that I have to say is that I’d far rather get a master’s degree in information science and become a children’s librarian than get a doctorate in British literature and teach college students.”

“And personally,” Emma added. “I’d rather never go back to college. Enough was enough. I’m perfectly happy to go to the office from eight to five every day and not worry about homework ever again.”

Elsa snorted again. “You take work home, Emma Alexandra. Don’t lie.”

“I don’t want to talk about it. Managing a vineyard and tasting room-“

“And your dad,” Nora interrupted before a hand smacked over her mouth.

“…Is hard work,” Emma concluded. “The vineyard and tasting room are hard work. Dad is the same as he always was.”

“Hard work,” Annie remarked.

Emma took a sip of coffee and sighed. “My dad is fine. He’s my dad. I’m used to him.”

Elsa rolled her eyes. “So, Annie, was last night therapeutic aside from the hangover?”

Annie took a sip of her cream with coffee before replying. “I don’t think that I’m over Erik Wentworth yet.”

“Yet,” Emma repeated. “There is hope.”

“Hush,” Elsa told her. “Let the girl talk.”

Annie smiled faintly. “But I think that it helped. I think that I can at least face him with confidence if I ever see him again.”

“Doubtful after someone chewed him out on Thursday,” Nora said.

“He’s not a bad person. I just want to put him behind me and find the right guy.”

Emma raised her coffee mug in salute. “Here’s to that, Annie. Let’s find you the right guy.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Nora said raising her own mug.

“Hear, hear!” Elsa added as she lifted her mug. “Here’s to our Annabelle Eliot finding the right guy!”

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this. I assure that there is more to come!


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